It may be only in its second year but Skipton Art Festival organisers the Guernsey Art Network has garnered a sizeable number of followers
‘All are volunteers who give many hours of their time and deserve to be recognised for putting others before themselves to make this happen,’ said Christine Shaw, who nominated the group for the Moonpig-sponsored Arts Contribution of the Year Award. Ms Shaw continued: ‘The team work together for the benefit of the whole Island.’
Fellow proposer Ellen Gallienne added: ‘A dedicated team ensuring art exhibitions and workshops are accessible to the local community of all ages.’
The festival has certainly captured the public’s imagination. ‘We are very grateful for the positive feedback we receive from artists, friends and families,’ said GAN deputy chairwomen Bridget Spinney. ‘We are committed to building an easily-accessible visual arts community her in the Bailiwick, filling the gap where it previously didn’t exist.’
Another aspect of GAN’s mandate is to work in tandem with other organisations.
‘We are working with the prison service to produce an exciting series of interactive sculptures which will be displayed at Castle Cornet in September,’ said coordinator Vivien Ferneyhough. ‘We believe that an involvement in art and art-related projects encourages self-belief and self-confidence in people, no matter what their circumstances may be.’
Photo: Guernsey Art Network committee members featured in photo from left to right, top row, Frances Lemmon, Richard Sweet, Viv Ferneyhough, bottom row Coralie Moynihan, Sharmane Dodd, Bridget Spinney and Rex Ferneyhough.